BASEBALL/Lee Hao-yu crushes 5th homer as Tigers beat Cubs 5-1

Taipei, July 23 (CNA) Detroit Tigers infielder Lee Hao-yu (李灝宇), one of two Taiwanese position players on Major League Baseball (MLB) active rosters, hit his fifth homer of the season Wednesday, a go-ahead three-run shot in a 5-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs.

The win gave Detroit a 2-1 series victory, its second consecutive series win since the All-Star break, and improved its record to 48-54.

Starting at second base and batting eighth, Lee grounded out against Cubs right-hander Colin Rea in his first plate appearance.

With two outs, runners on first and second and the score tied 1-1 in the fourth, Lee worked the count to 3-0 before driving Rea's 92.6 mph four-seam fastball into the lower-middle part of the zone over the center-field fence to give Detroit a 4-1 lead.

According to MLB.com, the ball left his bat at 105.9 mph (170.4 kph) and traveled 389 feet (118.6 meters).

It proved to be the decisive hit and extended Lee's hitting streak to seven games, tying the record among Taiwanese MLB players set by Yu Chang (張育成) in 2021.

Lee struck out in the seventh and lined out in the ninth to finish 1-for-4 with three RBIs. His batting average stood at .256.

The rookie has collected 43 hits this season, tying Lin Tzu-wei (林子偉) for the second-most career MLB hits by a Taiwanese player. Chang holds the record with 121.

Tigers starter Keider Montero earned the win after allowing one run on three hits over 5 1/3 innings while striking out eight. Rea took the loss after surrendering four runs over five innings.

The Tigers remain fourth in the American League Central, 1.5 games behind the Minnesota Twins and 6.5 games behind the division-leading Chicago White Sox.

Also Wednesday, Boston Red Sox shortstop Cheng Tsung-che (鄭宗哲), the other Taiwanese position player on an MLB active roster, recorded the final out of the opening game of a doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles, as Boston matched its franchise record with a 15th consecutive win.

With two outs in the ninth, Cheng stopped a hard grounder by Pete Alonso and made a long throw to first. MLB.com highlighted the play, which marked the second straight game Cheng had sealed a Boston victory with a defensive gem.

Cheng went 0-for-3 with one strikeout, as the Red Sox won the first game of the doubleheader 6-3.

He did not play in the nightcap, which Boston lost 5-1, ending its bid for a franchise-record 16th straight win.